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81-508: The park suffered financially, in part due to a low number of attractions. It also faced competition from the indoor Adventuredome amusement park, also on the Strip. In 1997, the MGM Grand began construction on a pool, a spa, and a conference center, taking up 15 acres (6.1 ha) of theme park land. The park was reduced by 40 percent to 18.8 acres (7.6 ha). In 1998, the park switched to

162-1051: A "Haunted House" dark ride . The Haunted Mansion is popular with patrons at Disney locations around the world. Miracle Strip Amusement Park in Panama City Beach, Florida , had a "Haunted Castle" ride until the amusement park itself closed down in 2004. Its prop elements became part of "The Terrortorium" in Oxford, Alabama , for annual Halloween events. Miracle Strip's former "Old House" walk-through attraction permanently transferred to Panama City Beach's amusement park, Race City , where it currently stands simply identified as "Haunted House". Many of Sally Corporation 's Scooby-Doo's Haunted Mansion rides were replaced by Boo Blasters on Boo Hill . Haunted houses or mansions for an annual Halloween season can be located in hospitals, grocery stores, shopping malls, warehouses, semi-trailers , factories, boats or ships, dilapidated homes, etc. Haunted house or haunted mansion events can range from

243-918: A "Mini haunted house for the March of Dimes" in 1976 and began fundraising through their local chapters by conducting haunted houses soon after. Although they apparently quit supporting this type of event nationally sometime in the 1980s, some MoD haunted houses have persisted until today. This includes the Spooky Acres Haunted House in Norfolk, Virginia . Others open during this period include one in Indio, California , in 1976, one in Salt Lake City, Utah , in 1989, and one in Honolulu, Hawaii , in 1997. MoD Haunted Houses continuing much beyond

324-663: A 2013 expansion at the Fun Spot America theme park in Florida. The park included several theaters and opened with five shows: The 40-percent reduction in acreage during the late 1990s entailed the removal of the Backlot River Tour, Deep Earth Exploration, and Manhattan Theatre. Although unaffected by the layout change, The Haunted Mine was also closed. During its final year, the park had several additional rides, including Les Bumper Boats, Pedalin' PaddleBoats,

405-510: A common complaint at Disneyland in California. Most of the waiting areas, both indoor and outdoor, also featured air-conditioning and heating. The park featured costumed walkaround characters such as King Looey, the park's mascot. Future actor Wayne Brady worked as one of the park's performers during the 1990s, playing various characters. The park also featured various food options, including Burger King and Nathan's Famous . Early on,

486-527: A few events that include multiple attractions in one place and may be located on a farm, park, parking lot or anywhere suitable for a large-scale event, but strictly speaking, these are not considered theme parks. The first haunted theme park was Knott's Scary Farm , which opened at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, on October 31, 1973. Haunted theme parks are among the most popular haunted attractions since they offer multiple attractions for

567-818: A few hours on Halloween night, or for a few weekends in October. They do not require state-issued emergency lighting, fire alarms, or fire escapes if they are under a specific length. Yard haunts take place in a yard, usually dressed to resemble a cemetery, adjacent to a home. They may feature prop tombstones, skulls, large inflatable characters, plastic light-up figures (a.k.a. blowmolds), strobe lights, fog machines, cobwebs, spooky music, animatronics, and other décor that can be purchased at Halloween stores. Some homeowners create their own props. Displays can include synchronized music and lighting effects using computer programs such as Light-O-Rama or Animated Lighting. They may utilize an FM transmitter so people can park their car, locate

648-546: A few minutes to many hours in length, with some permitting visitors to go at their own pace and others requiring group tours led by guides. A number of the largest seasonal attractions feature multiple haunted houses on the same site. For example, in 2015, Pure Terror Screampark in Monroe, New York, was awarded the Guinness World Record for World's Longest Walk Through Horror Attraction. In terms of appearance,

729-453: A guest is going the wrong way or lost, an actor within the room may hold the guests arm to guide them to the rope in order to find the way out of the dark area. Hell houses are haunted attractions typically run by Christian churches or parachurch groups. These depict sin, the torments of the damned in Hell, and usually conclude with a depiction of heaven. They are most typically operated in

810-426: A haunted attraction that is created at a person's home. They often begin with a yard haunt (see below) before continuing into interior rooms, which may include garages. Visitors can expect to see homemade props or animatronics, detailed decor, special effects and costumed characters. The vast majority of home haunts are not for profit, or may ask for donations for charity or other local causes. They are usually open for

891-535: A haunted dark ride is the Phantom Theater Omnimover at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio . A cornfield maze is an attraction that uses cornstalks to form paths for people to walk through. Patrons can expect to experience turns, straight paths and dead ends. The cornfield maze might be designed to resemble a popular character, public figure, event or holiday. Most cornfield mazes are open during

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972-525: A hell house often have a controversial tone focusing on issues of concern to Christians in the United States. Hell houses frequently feature exhibits depicting sin and its consequences. Common examples include abortion, suicide, use of alcoholic beverages and recreational drugs, adultery, occultism, and Satanic ritual abuse . Hell houses typically emphasize the belief that anyone who does not repent of their sin and accept Christ as their personal savior

1053-669: A lazy creek and a re-creation of a pueblo . It had four attractions: the Canyon Blaster roller coaster, the Twist 'N' Shout water raft, the Rim Runner , and the Hot Shotz Lazer Tag arena, now known as Lazer Blast. The park also featured eight large animatronic dinosaurs spread throughout the park, with visitors being able to read the informational placards in front of each one. Though visitors could not ride them,

1134-676: A lot of theming, but people said there weren't enough things to do." Following the feedback, the park was closed for 45 days beginning in April 1994 to remodel, adding $ 15 million in new attractions. The park originally charged a $ 10 admission fee, but this was dropped in favor of a $ 2.50 fee for each ride. During the remodeling, several family-friendly attractions were added, such as Midway shows, Canyon Cars (bumper cars), Sand Pirates (a swinging pirate ship ), Miner Mike (a mini roller coaster), Thunderbirds (a mini airplane ride), and Drifters (a mini Ferris wheel ). The Twist 'N' Shout water raft ride

1215-514: A low-frequency radio station, and watch and listen to the show without the sounds disturbing the neighbors. An example of this type attraction is The House at Haunted Hill in Woodland Hills, California . A ghost run is a haunted event that takes place in a person's car. When a customer purchases a ticket for a ghost run, they are given various clues as to where different haunted attractions are. This haunted scavenger hunt usually includes

1296-509: A portion of the theme park land. Construction on the new project was underway in 2004, and it opened two years later as The Signature at MGM Grand . Topgolf opened one of its driving ranges on the remaining acreage in 2016. MGM Grand Adventures featured a movie studio theme. It had several themed areas, including Casablanca Plaza, New York Street, Asian Village, French Street, Salem Waterfront, Tumbleweed Gulch, Rio Grande Cantina, New Orleans Street, and Olde England Street. From 1994 to 1997,

1377-452: A seasonal schedule. It closed for the season on September 4, 2000, and never reopened to the public. In 2001, the theme park became a rental facility for corporate functions under the name The Park at MGM Grand . It operated this way for the next few years, offering a reduced number of rides. A condo hotel project, The Signature at MGM Grand , opened on a portion of the theme park land in 2006. Topgolf opened one of its driving ranges on

1458-425: A single admission price, and are often of a high level of production value. Haunted theme parks, whether they are set in true theme parks or set up within large spaces, typically contain a certain two types of area for their facilities, the hub area where food, drinks and merchandise can be purchased, the guests can relax and the live shows such as bands and magic shows are performed, actors can still appear throughout

1539-524: A single golf ball incident as of 2009. The animatronic dinosaurs were eventually removed. In its early years, the park was sometimes also known as "Grand Slam Canyon Adventuredome". The name was changed to simply "Adventuredome" in 1997. The theme park is climate-controlled, and this helped it succeed over its rival, MGM Grand Adventures, which was outdoors and struggled during the hot summer months in Las Vegas. The Adventuredome also competed against

1620-567: A year studying the Opryland and Fiesta Texas theme parks for guidance. MGM Grand Adventures opened with expensive ticket prices, which were reduced shortly thereafter. In 1996, the MGM Grand announced an $ 8 million reconfiguration of the park, which had performed below expectations. In 1997, the MGM Grand resort began construction on a pool, a spa, and a 380,000 sq ft (35,000 m) conference center. They were built on 15 acres of land previously occupied by MGM Grand Adventures, reducing

1701-412: Is a haunted attraction that consists of dark or pitch-black rooms with multiple paths that may contain dead ends. Some may feature actors, air cannons, loud sounds, sprays of water, moving walls or floors, hanging props, flashing lights and more. A dark maze can be a standalone attraction or an extension of a haunted house, haunted trail or hayride. Some dark mazes can transition into a chain maze , which

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1782-494: Is a haunted attraction that takes place on a ship, battleship , destroyer , or any other type of ship. Patrons board these attractions via a gangway and walk through the ship that is usually lit with effects lighting, plays sound effects, and has thematic rooms meant to create a terrifying environment. Most of these types of attractions are found on the west coast or east coast, and are not as prevalent as typical haunted theme parks, hayrides, and haunted trails or forests. Some of

1863-480: Is a popular dark ride at Walt Disney World 's Hollywood Studios (Sunset Boulevard), Tokyo DisneySea ( American Waterfront ), and Walt Disney Studios Park ( Production Courtyard ). Revenge of the Mummy roller coaster is the most popular dark ride at Universal Studios Florida (New York City), Universal Studios Hollywood (Lower Lot), and Universal Studios Singapore (Ancient Egypt). Another classic example of

1944-437: Is a tradition of making obakeyashiki (ghost houses) in the summertime, as fear is believed to ward off the heat by "giving you the chills". They typically feature frightening creatures from Japanese folklore, ghosts, demons, sinister crucifixes and other things that are brought to life thanks to decorations, sound effects and animatronics. A story is often told to visitors before they receive a mission that they must accomplish in

2025-403: Is an indoor amusement ride where riders in guided vehicles travel through specially-lit scenes that typically contain animatronics, sound, music, and special effects. A dark ride is enclosed so all illumination is controlled, often using theatrical lighting to achieve special effects. Selective use of darkness helps hide ride mechanisms and increase visual drama. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

2106-682: Is condemned to Hell. One of the first hell houses is Scaremare (still presented each October) in Lynchburg, Virginia ; it was created by Jerry Falwell in the late 1970s. Similar events began in several regions during that period. Hell houses have faced criticism for advertising themselves as traditional haunted houses. Most involve biblical lessons and some ask customers to pray to Jesus Christ before exiting, regardless of their beliefs. Some hell houses are much more graphic than traditional haunted attractions and not appropriate for all audiences. A dark ride or ghost train (United Kingdom and Australia)

2187-477: Is contained within a large glass dome, and offers various rides and attractions including the Canyon Blaster and El Loco roller coasters, a rock climbing wall , an 18-hole miniature golf course , a video game arcade , and carnival-type games . Because the park is enclosed, it is unaffected by weather, unlike most theme parks, and is open year-round. Every October from 2003 until 2017, the Adventuredome

2268-449: Is not unusual to come in contact with actors known as sliders who wear special kneepads. When the actor slides on the ground, the kneepads make a scraping noise before the actor is inches away from the customer. Additionally, a large percentage of haunted theme parks feature live shows, concession areas, rides and other typical amusement park attractions. Not all haunted theme parks take place inside an actual amusement park. There are quite

2349-599: Is similar to a dark maze but uses metal bars or chain-link fencing for its walls. Most chain mazes will utilize strobe lights and heavy fog to blind and disorient customers while they try to find the exit. A chain maze can also serve as a standalone attraction. The amount of time spent inside a dark maze or chain maze may depend on the construction of the maze as well as one's skill at navigating mazes. Pitch black areas such as dark mazes are quite common as sections for horror attractions, and are quite common in extreme haunted houses, they usually contain ropes for traversal and if

2430-588: The Las Vegas Sun reported that the park "flopped because it lacked any exciting rides". The park's failure was also attributed to its small size and low number of attractions. Adventuredome Adventuredome (formerly Grand Slam Canyon ) is a 5-acre (2.0 ha) indoor amusement park at Circus Circus in Winchester, Nevada on the Las Vegas Strip . It is owned by Phil Ruffin . It

2511-562: The Grand Canyon , would be built west of the casino, on a deck located above a parking lot. Veldon Simpson was the architect, and Arrow Dynamics was hired to design and build several of the rides. Perini Corporation was hired to construct the dome itself. The park cost $ 90 million to build. Construction was underway in September 1992, and the opening was initially scheduled for the following July. Circus Circus hoped to have

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2592-541: The Headless Horseman from Washington Irving 's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow . The typical haunted hayride lasts from 10 to 45 minutes. Some use sound systems attached to the wagon or tractor. During the daytime, some haunted hayrides may have live shows, face painting, fun characters and may even sell pumpkins or other vegetables grown on the farm. Haunted hayrides may be intertwined with any other type of haunted attraction, such as first being transported to

2673-598: The Red Baron airplane ride, and a rock-climbing wall. When the property rebranded as The Park at MGM Grand, it retained the remaining theaters as well as three rides: SkyScreamer, Lightning Bolt, and Parisian Taxis. It also added team building activities such as obstacle courses. Architecture critic Blair Kamin , writing for the Chicago Tribune in 1994, called the park "an uninspired copy of Disneyland" with "unconvincing re-creations of historic streets." During

2754-562: The 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, it was common for magicians to use supernatural themes in their stage performances, which evolve into the tradition of a traveling ghost show, also referred to as a spook show or creep show, and incorporate comedy, displays of mentalism and theatrical special effects. During the 1950s these specialized shows were often performed as pre-show entertainment before screenings of popular horror movies . The Haunted Mansion opened in Disneyland on August 9, 1969, and

2835-551: The Adventuredome from MGM Resorts International in 2019. A renovation took place in 2023, adding several new attractions. Aside from rides, the Adventuredome also includes midway and arcade games. The park received its 1-millionth guest in May 1994, and its 10-millionth in July 1998. At that time, the park averaged two million visitors a year. A record for daily attendance was hit on November 27, 1999, with 30,130 visitors. For 2000,

2916-592: The Adventuredome ranked 19th in North America and 34th in the world for attendance, with 2.9 million visitors. As of 2001, the park received an average of 7,500 visitors daily. For 2003, park attendance ranked 11th in North America and 19th in the world. The park had received 30 million total visitors as of 2004. Another single-day record was reached in November 2005, with 41,182 people. The Adventuredome had its 50 millionth visitor on January 1, 2009. Attendance

2997-572: The Grand Slam Canyon opened before the upcoming MGM Grand Adventures Theme Park . The building's dome design was created entirely out of pink tinted glass, with each pane weighing approximately 300 lb (140 kg). The dome itself consists of over 350,000 sq ft (33,000 m ) of pink insulated glass placed over a teal green frame. The dome has 8,615 panes of glass. Grand Slam Canyon eventually opened on August 23, 1993. It featured river-rapid rides, two lagoonlike pools,

3078-743: The Haunted Hotel-13th Floor, was operated by volunteers in October 1963. The first verifiable Jaycees haunted attraction as recognized by the Jaycees national office was The WSAI Haunted House in Cincinnati, Ohio, operated by the Sycamore-Deer Park Jaycees in 1970. In 1974, The Haunted Schoolhouse, located in Akron, Ohio , opened to the public and is still in operation to this day. The March of Dimes copyrighted

3159-603: The Las Vegas park to retain its name. MGM Grand Adventures was built along with the MGM Grand resort, both opened on December 18, 1993. The theme park was built at a cost of $ 120 million. It originally occupied 33 acres, located northeast of the resort. The property was previously used for the Tropicana Country Club . The park was built at time when Las Vegas was aiming to become a family friendly tourist destination. The park's general manager and his team spent

3240-745: The San Mateo Haunted House opened, sponsored by the Children's Health Home Junior Auxiliary. The San Bernardino Assistance League Haunted House opened in 1958. In 1962 and 1963 home haunts began appearing across the country, including Oregon, California, Connecticut, Illinois, and several other states. On October 17, 1964, the San Manteo Haunted House opened as a walk-through haunted house. The Children's Museum Haunted House in Indianapolis, open every year since 1964,

3321-547: The Sling Shot in 2004. The new rides were part of an effort to target an older demographic, from ages 13 and up. On February 3, 2013, the Rim Runner was permanently closed to make way for a newer roller coaster named " El Loco ", which opened on February 18, 2014. The Rim Runner's closure left the Canyon Blaster as the only original ride left from the park's opening. Phil Ruffin purchased Circus Circus and

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3402-667: The U.S. In 2014, the Travel Channel ranked Fright Dome as the second best haunted attraction in the country, and another location was opened that year in Hong Kong. Fright Dome was sometimes themed after horror films, including The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), and the Halloween and Saw films. The 2016 event included a haunted house based on Five Nights at Freddy's . The 2017 Fright Dome would be

3483-472: The United States about the same time as the non-profits. However, subsequent to the Haunted Castle fire, many existing haunted attractions were shut down, as politicians and regulators enacted stronger safety codes. Volunteer (non-profit) organizations struggled to compete against the new for-profit competition under the tougher rules. Many were forced out of business either from the added competition or

3564-765: The United States. The theme park haunts are by far the largest, both in scale and attendance. There are many types of haunted attractions including Scream Parks. The following categories are generalizations; many "haunts" contain attributes from more than one type. A haunted house , haunted mansion , or haunted castle is a type of haunted attraction that usually takes place indoors. Visitors may experience intense animatronics, bloody and frightening set pieces, rustic antiques, scary music and sounds, dynamic lighting, fog, costumed actors with elaborate makeup or masks, and other special effects used to create scenes of terror. Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania , has

3645-576: The customer's pace and the length of the trail. A haunted hayride is a haunted attraction and a form of agri-entertainment that takes place during a hayride on a farm, park or large piece of land. Patrons climb on a wagon filled with hay or hay bales and are driven into the darkness as the tractor driver navigates through brush, cornfields, narrow paths, fields and barns. Throughout the trip, customers may come in contact with out-of-control farm equipment, fast-moving vehicles (hearses, hot rods), actors dressed up as monsters and traditional characters like

3726-524: The customer. Haunted attractions typically operate from the last week of late September or early October to the last week in October or first week of November. In particular, they are especially active during the triduum of Allhallowtide . There is also a subculture of permanent haunted attractions that are open year-round, and a few that are open for special occasions, such as haunt conventions or Spring Break (also called Scream Break). Some attractions are run by charities as fundraisers. In Japan, there

3807-538: The day and are appropriate for all ages. The largest corn maze in the world was located in Dixon, California , and is 45 acres in area as of 2010 . Although this corn maze holds distinction as the world's largest corn maze, Adventure Acres corn maze in Bellbrook, Ohio , consists of 62 acres of corn maze with 8.5 miles of trails. In 2003, a world record for the longest maze path, as recognised by Guinness World Records,

3888-407: The days preceding the triduum of Allhallowtide . A hell house, like a conventional haunted-house attraction, is a space set aside for actors to frighten patrons with gruesome exhibits and scenes, presented as a series of short vignettes with a narrated guide. Unlike haunted houses, hell houses focus on occasions and effects of sin or the fate of unrepentant sinners in the afterlife. The exhibits at

3969-402: The dinosaurs often "interacted" with the visitors, with some spitting water on guests. Grand Slam Canyon was initially popular, but visitors often expressed their desire for more things to do. Tom Nolan, the vice president of theme park operations at Adventuredome, suggested that "it was a [matter] of what people wanted versus what they could do" and added that "there were a lot of animatronics,

4050-721: The house. One of the first recorded purpose-built haunted attractions was the Orton and Spooner Ghost House, which opened in 1915 in Liphook , England. Closely resembling a carnival fun house, it was powered by steam. It still exists, in the Hollycombe Steam Collection . The background for the creation of the Orton and Spooner Ghost House might be seen in 18th- and 19th-century London and Paris, when literature, performances by magicians, spiritualists and psychics, as well as theatrical shows and attractions introduced

4131-406: The hub area, where their scare factor may or may not be as high compared to the mazes themselves. The mazes themselves are typically accessed by large queue entrances, and the mazes for the most part contain the bulk of a haunted theme park's scare factor, encouraging the more elaborate special effects, scare tactics and traversal compared to the calmer hub area. A dark maze (or pitch-black maze )

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4212-409: The inability to fund safety requirements. "The Jaycees got pushed out because their haunted houses were fairly basic." Currently, in the United States alone, there are over 4,000 October seasonal haunted houses and 300 theme parks that operate horror-themed events. Over 3,000 haunts are charity-run fundraisers. In order to increase off-season attendance, theme parks entered the business seriously in

4293-494: The industry) use many effects, such as intense lighting ( strobe lights , black lights , etc.), animatronics , CGI , scent dispensers, fog machines , spinning tunnels , air blasters , spooky old antiques, gory images, and intense scenes of horror, terror, torment, murder, mischief, or comedy . Visitors often encounter actors in elaborate and often scary costumes, masks, and prosthetics . They may perform skits or lurk and come out unexpectedly to frighten, shock, disturb, or amuse

4374-1287: The last, as Circus Circus announced that it would not bring back the event for 2018. The current and former attractions at the amusement park are provided below. 2004 [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Haunted attraction (simulated) A haunted attraction is a form of live entertainment that simulates visiting haunted locations or experiencing horror scenarios. They usually feature fearsome sets and characters, especially demons , ghosts , skeletons , zombies , monsters , possessed people , witches , serial killers , and slashers . Humorous characters may also be included. Haunted attractions may be set up at many kinds of locations. Built attractions or existing structures in which attractions may be operated include temporarily constructed simulations of haunted houses ; actual abandoned or dilapidated houses; abandoned asylums ; defunct prisons ; defunct or active amusement parks ; defunct or active ships ; defunct factories ; defunct or active barns ; and shopping malls . Outdoor places hosting such attractions include corn mazes or cornfields; hedge mazes ; farms (often including "haunted" hayrides ); wooded areas or forests ; and parks . Haunted attractions (also known as "haunts" or "mazes" within

4455-495: The late 1960s to early 1970s, haunted attractions were developed in larger American cities like Louisville, Kentucky , and Cincinnati, Ohio , with the creation of Jaycees haunted houses. These haunted houses are run by local chapters of the Jaycees. There are still many local chapter Jaycees haunted houses in towns such as Lombard, Illinois ; Foxborough, Massachusetts ; Raleigh, North Carolina ; and Columbia, South Carolina . The former Huntington Jaycees Haunted House, now known as

4536-655: The late 1980s and early 1990s. Six Flags launched Fright Fest in 1986-1989 and Universal Studios began Halloween Horror Nights in 1991. Although Knotts Berry Farm launched their Knott's Scary Farm in 1973, given America's obsession with Halloween as a cultural event surging in the 1990s, Knotts saw their attraction take off. Theme parks have played a major role in globalizing the holiday. Universal Studios Singapore and Universal Studios Japan both participate, while Disney now mounts Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween events at its parks in Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo, as well as in

4617-651: The late 1980s would be considered outliers. The beginning of the end for the charity haunts can be traced to a singular event: the Haunted Castle at Six Flags Great Adventure caught fire on the evening of May 11, 1984, in Jackson Township, New Jersey . Eight teenagers lost their lives in the fire. There were criminal charges filed, civil lawsuits, numerous investigations, and the inevitable result that fire safety laws, building codes, and inspections were tightened up considerably nationwide. The net effect

4698-517: The location with things to see along the way, before the guests are let off to walk through the rest of the attraction. One of the more noted companies in this sector is Ten Thirty One Productions , which has hay rides in Los Angeles and New York. The haunted hayride was arguably started and popularized by the original Spooky World, which opened in Berlin, Massachusetts, in 1991. A haunted ship

4779-474: The month, MGM Mirage began putting all of the rides and attractions up for sale, while stating that the park could re-open in 2001 if the equipment could not be sold for an adequate price. In February 2001, plans were announced to rename MGM Grand Adventures as The Park at MGM, offering a reduced number of rides. The park would only be open for corporate group business and special events with 50 or more people, with general admission tickets no longer issued. Keeping

4860-768: The more popular haunted ships in the United States are the USS Nightmare in Newport, Kentucky ; Queen Mary's Dark Harbor in Long Beach, California ; and Ghost Ship Harbor in Quincy, Massachusetts . A haunted theme park is an amusement park whose buildings and paths have been converted into haunted houses, haunted trails or hayrides during the fall season (September, October and early November). Many haunted theme parks include themed outdoor scare zones that feature costumed monsters who roam around scaring customers. It

4941-474: The nearby Wet 'n Wild water park. The Adventuredome began offering IMAX film rides in 1998, including one based on the animated series ReBoot . In 1999, management tried to keep up with the latest developments in the industry by consulting visitor surveys. This resulted in the addition of several dynamic thrill rides across the next few years, including the Inverter that same year, Chaos in 2001, and

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5022-440: The park featured seven rides: An additional ride, SkyScreamer, opened on September 2, 1996. It was a 250-foot-tall (76 m) skycoaster . Riders were strapped into harnesses and lifted up a 220-foot (67 m) launch tower where they then pulled a ripcord, setting into motion a 100-foot free fall upwards of 70 mph (110 km/h). As of 2000, it was the world's largest skycoaster. The ride would later be installed as part of

5103-441: The park open for special events was a way to generate income while still considering other options for the land, including the development of timeshares, luxury condominiums, entertainment complexes, or additional casino and hotel space. The park remained open for corporate events into 2003, and became popular for its annual Jimmy Buffett concerts. In December 2002, MGM Mirage announced plans to build several condo hotel towers on

5184-399: The park to 18.8 acres. In 1998, MGM Grand Adventures switched to a seasonal operation, with the park usually re-opening in April and continuing operations through the summer. In mid-2000, MGM Mirage (previously MGM Grand, Inc.) reviewed the park's land for possible alternative uses, despite being pleased with its performance. The park closed for the season on September 4, 2000. At the end of

5265-527: The park was closed for 45 days in 1994 to add new attractions. Grand Slam Canyon was renamed the Adventuredome in 1997. Circus Circus Enterprises (later Mandalay Resort Group) initially owned the Adventuredome until 2005, when it was sold to MGM Mirage , which later became MGM Resorts International. Ruffin purchased the resort and theme park in 2019. Circus Circus Enterprises announced the theme park on August 26, 1992, as an addition to its Circus Circus Las Vegas resort. The Grand Slam Canyon, themed after

5346-401: The park was renamed Scream Park each October for Halloween. This separate admission event included several haunted houses in and around the park's attractions. From 1995 to 1997, the park also offered an annual Holiday Wonderland each December, featuring Christmas-themed entertainment. MGM Grand Adventures could handle 16,000 people, although capacity was capped at 8,000 to prevent long lines,

5427-649: The prototypical haunted house in America can probably trace its roots to the 1925 painting House by the Railroad by Edward Hopper . A haunted trail or haunted forest is a type of attraction that takes place outside in the woods, at a park, at a theme park or other outside venue. Most haunted trails are close to a mile long and may include small buildings or huts that include various scenes visitors are forced to enter or walk past. The majority of haunted trails have lit paths or roped-off areas if there are no paths in

5508-698: The public to gruesome entertainment. In 1802, Marie Tussaud scandalized British audiences with an exhibition of wax sculptures of decapitated victims of the French Revolution , including King Louis XVI , Marie Antoinette , Robespierre and Jean-Paul Marat . Her exhibits exist today as the Chamber of Horrors in Madam Tussauds in London. In France, from 1897, the Grand Guignol theatre

5589-569: The remaining acreage in 2016. Disney won the rights to use the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) name for theme parks in 1985, opening Disney-MGM Studios in Florida four years later. Separate plans by MGM Grand, Inc. were announced in October 1989 for an MGM-branded theme park in Las Vegas, which began construction two years later. Disney challenged the Las Vegas project over its name, accusing MGM of trying to harm business at its Florida park. A judge ruled against Disney in 1992, allowing

5670-567: The same year, Alex Beam of Forbes wrote, "The nicest thing one can say about MGM's Grand Adventures theme park is that it isn't very crowded, for reasons that will become clear should you visit." Meanwhile, Michael A. Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times wrote that MGM "oversold its theme park's quality without devoting to it sufficient imagination and expense." He also criticized the park's outdoor setting as another drawback, noting that local temperatures can reach over 100 degrees during

5751-490: The summer. The park had trouble competing against the Adventuredome , an indoor climate-controlled amusement park that also opened on the Las Vegas Strip in 1993. The Las Vegas Review-Journal opined in 1999 that the park "failed to take into consideration that a third of its visitors come from California where theme parks are ubiquitous and always racing to unveil the latest in thrill rides." Following its closure,

5832-494: The theme park's rides, aimed at younger children, were closed during the Fright Dome event, in an effort to appeal to an older demographic. Fright Dome became an annual event at the Adventuredome each October. It cost $ 2 million to put on each year. New features were added for each Fright Dome. In 2005, it attracted 50,000 visitors. USA Today considered Fright Dome to be among the top 10 haunted house attractions in

5913-420: The woods that have already been made. Haunted trails include various rooms or scenes such as hillbilly huts, a haunted cornfield , a clown maze, an alien invasion, or movie-themed rooms. Haunted trails may use tour guides, or they may allow visitors to walk alone. Unlike haunted houses, weather determines if the attraction will be open or not during the month of October. Tour times may vary greatly depending on

5994-467: Was 3.2 million people for 2014. In 2003, the Adventuredome partnered with brothers Jason and Michael Egan, who owned Fright America, to transform the theme park into a temporary Halloween attraction known as Fright Dome. The project, modeled after Knott's Scary Farm , was intended to boost attendance during October, which was usually a poor month for visitation as children return to school. Fright Dome included haunted houses and actors in costumes. Nine of

6075-442: Was Indiana's first haunted house and is currently the longest running in the nation. Haunted houses quickly spread across the country via charity fundraisers conducted by The United States Junior Chamber ("the Jaycees") and others. The Jaycees encouraged its membership to construct haunted houses in abandoned buildings or fields as charity fundraising events, and the organization became known for these houses throughout America. In

6156-435: Was highly successful, soon gaining a single-day record of 82,516 guests. In 1973, Knott's Berry Farm began hosting its own Halloween night attraction, Knott's Scary Farm . Evangelical Christians became early adopters of alternative Halloween attractions; Jerry Falwell and Liberty University introduced one of the first " Hell houses " in 1972. During the late 1950s, California was a focus for Halloween haunts. In 1957,

6237-416: Was removed to make way for several of these rides, solely due to its size. After the remodeling, as space became available, rides were added to the theme park one or two at a time every few years. Near the laser tag arena, for example, management added a rock climbing wall and a miniature golf course. Though initially hesitant to add the golf course out of concern for the park's glass dome, there has not been

6318-532: Was scaring audiences with graphically staged horror entertainment. The Phantasmagoria show existed even earlier, but a well-known version in 1797 Paris was the Fantasmagorie, which made use of magic lantern projections and crude special effects. Halloween-themed haunted houses in America seemed to begin emerging during the Great Depression , about the same time as trick-or-treating . During

6399-488: Was set on 10 July 2003 at 8.838 miles (14.223 kilometres) in the Lobster Maize Maze, designed by Adrian Fisher, at Stewarts Gardenlands, Christchurch, Dorset, England . A haunted cornfield maze is identical to a cornfield maze except that it may include actors, props, special effects, scary music and more. The majority of haunted cornfield mazes are open after dark. A home haunt is a simplified version of

6480-642: Was to make charity attractions less economically viable than they were before. Better construction materials were required, and fire safety equipment was required, making a temporary venue too expensive for many charities to afford. As a result, the larger, better funded for-profit operators moved in as the charities moved out. The fire caused wide-ranging changes for all amusement buildings. Previously, operators were able to avoid fire codes because such attractions were used temporarily. The Haunted Castle fire pointed to an unattractive reality that forced tighter regulation. Professional haunted houses began to show up in

6561-587: Was turned into the Halloween-themed Fright Dome . The theme park opened as Grand Slam Canyon on August 23, 1993, in the west parking lot of the hotel. It sits on a reinforced 18" thick deck elevated 18 feet (5 m) above ground. The dome itself consists of over 350,000 sq ft (33,000 m ) of pink tinted, insulated glass over a teal green space frame (to minimize structural poles inside). Each pane of glass weighs approximately 300 lb (140 kg). After customer feedback,

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